Connect360 - iLife Meets XBox 360
January 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I knew you could connect a Windows Media Center PC to your XBox 360 to extend the available content, but my primary machine at home is a Mac running OS X. This means all the fun media (movies, music, and pictures) is all on there. So after a bit of searching I turned up the absolutely amazing Connect360 by Nullriver Software.
So how exactly does it work and what does it do?
The iTunes integration allows you to browse and play your iTunes music by song, artist, album, genre or playlist. As expected, this allows support for listening to your iTunes songs while playing a game. It even updates your iTunes play count and play date for songs played on your Xbox 360.
In addition, Connect360 supports streaming of live Internet radio broadcasts by simply addind any station to a playlist
As for iPhoto, you can view your photo library, browse by photo album or watch a slideshow.
Any movies in your movie folder become available for viewing in full screen.
Connect360 supports the following formats:
MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF and Apple Lossless for Music. For Photos, Connect360 supports: JPEG, RAW, GIF, PNG, BMP and TIFF. For video streaming, currently only WMV+WMA, AVI (DIVX/XVID), H.264 and MPEG4 files are supported (in MP4 and MOV containers).
On top of all this sweetness, it also does “automagic transcoding”. With this feature, it can do on-the-fly automatic transcoding of many formats so that you can enjoy even more content on you Xbox 360.
As for setup, you drop a new control panel on your Mac and this Connect360 software will automatically detect your Xbox 360 and in turn your 360 will automatically detect your Mac and the media made available to it.
The demo is free, and the full version is merely $20, so if you have this setup, try it out, you won’t be sorry.
Tags: aac, avi, connect360, divx, h.264, iLife, mac, media center, media center pc, media pc, microsoft, mp3, music, osx, pictures, video, xbox, xvid
Video Game Console Sales Charts
July 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
As an avid fan of video games, I’m always curious about who is “winning” the console wars as far as sales go. The best I’ve seen is Video Game Chartz. You can quickly and easily see information like I have snapshotted above for overall console sales. You can also get specifics on game popularity and sales for all the major consoles.
At the moment we can see that Nintendo’s Wii is poised to cross Microsoft’s XBox 360 in sales very soon. Sony’s PS3 is certainly screwed though…
Tags: charts, console, game charts, games, Nintendo, sony, video games, wii, xbox, xbox 360, xbox360
Manhunt 2 for Wii Trailer
April 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I was never excited about the original Manhunt game from Rockstar, but it got a lot of play in my house. For months this was the game of choice at lunch everyday for my friends. It is likely this was the most played game on our XBox.
With this in mind, I am reluctantly watching Manhunt 2 emerge for Nintendo Wii. I am particularly interested in the fact that Rockstar was willing to publish with Nintendo. This should go a long way towards getting them adult gamer respect.
Tags: manhunt, manhunt 2, Nintendo, nintendo wii, rockstar, rockstar games, video game, video games, wii, xbox
XBox 360 Hack
May 23, 2006 | 2 Comments
From an Engadget article it appears that making copies of 360 games is now a real possibility. The hack involves taking a part your DVD burner so you can switch disks without ejecting. Considering dual layer DVDs are now under $2.00, making backups of your games might be worthwhile.
Of course you also need to do a fairly complicated firmware hack so your backups will boot.
In some ways this actually makes me want to have an Xbox 360. There is something very satisfying about modifying hardware to do things it wasn’t intended for. However, the only new system I’ll be buying this year is the Nintendo Wii.
Tags: firmware, firmware hack, hack, microsoft, Nintendo, nintendo wii, xbox, xbox 360, xbox 360 hack
Nintendo Rules E3
May 14, 2006 | 9 Comments
While I got excited about a new Smash Brothers game, this was only the first in a series of things that excite me about Nintendo’s next generation console. Over the course of the show, The Big N showed why the Wii was once code named Revolution.
At one point during E3 the wait to get your hands on the Nintendo Wii reached 6 hours, while many said you could walk up and play the PS3 at any time. Much of this could be related to PS3’s extraordinary launch price ($499 or $599). Additionally, Sony’s announcement of adding tilt sensors to their controller seemed like last minute copy cating of Nintendo’s amazing new controller scheme. Additionally, game footage they showed did not look significantly better than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 games which have already hit the market. These things left PS3 the clear loser of E3.
As for Microsoft, they seemed to show some exciting new potential with their online services and integration with wireless devices. However, the potential for excitement here is less than with Nintendo primarily because there is still so much to learn about the Wii.
The clear confirming moment that indicated Nintendo’s victory was in Sony’s second idea theft, but this time they stole Microsoft’s idea. Peter Moore of Microsoft took a jab at PS3 by stating “They’re going to buy an Xbox and they’re going to buy a Wii… for the price of one PS3″. Later, PS3 executive Phil Harrison said to GamePro: “I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3″.
This confirms one thing they both agree on, people will be buying Nintendo’s system, even if they may have the purchase order screwy, or I wonder, why bother with either Xbox or PS3?
Anyway, I’ll be keeping a close eye on what we can expect to see on launch day for the Wii. Since I’m compiling the info for myself from many new sources, I’ll happily share it with you here.
Tags: console, consoles, game, games, microsoft, Nintendo, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, revolution, sony, video games, wii, xbox, xbox 360
Nintendo Announces Revolutionary Revolution Controller
September 16, 2005 | 6 Comments
Yesterday Nintendo announced at
In what I’m certain will be a hugely controversial move, the basic controller is one handed and looks more like a remote than a controller. However, a chip inside the controller can track its position and orientation. This allows physical movements of the controller to be represented as in game motion or general input. Imagine slashing a weapon or aiming a gun just by pointing.
You can also switch to the ‘Nunchaku’ configuration where an expansion controller plugs in for the other hand giving additional buttons and an analog stick. The two controllers are then connected by a short cord.
In my opinion, the key to this controller is that anyone can pick it up and start playing. It is fundamentally intuitive. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you handed someone a controller and watched them leaning and moving the controller all around in front of them? Sure this is usually parents, girlfriends, or generally non-gamer types (obviously there are exceptions to those stereotypes), but I want the whole family to actually be able to play games together. I want to fish with nephew, fight with my niece, play party games with my grandmother, etc. Currently the console is something I turn off when people come over, it would be a lot of fun to have anyone play.
But it’s not just for beginners, this interface is far more natural for first person shooters. Aim with one controller, walk with the other. The uses of this are endless, hopefully the games are made available.
Finally I am actually excited about a next generation system. If Nintendo can produce the right selection of games satisfying all different types of gamers, advanced especially, the Revolution could in fact revolutionize the industry.
Don’t think Sony doesn’t realize the industry is changing, just look at their involvement with the DDR pad, the Eye Toy, and microphone input. They are trying this too, but haven’t realized the simple answer is a massive improvement of the basic controller. Microsoft just doesn’t get it at all. They are addressing only the “bigger and better” sort of needs. That will only take them so far. This combined with much higher anticipated price points could finally put Nintendo back in the game.
From GameSpot:
Overall, despite its unorthodox appearance, the Revolution controller has a comfortable feel. The assorted demos on hand also indicated that playing Revolution games will be a more active, physical experience than playing current-generation games. Whether a player uses the pointer mechanic to actively control onscreen action or uses two hands to take advantage of attachments, the Revolution controller will likely change how games are played.
Still don’t believe me? Skeptical? This is just an Ad, but it shows a level of fun I haven’t found with a group of varying skill leveled friends since Super Smash Brothers…
Read more about it here:
1UP.Com: Revolution Controller Finally Revealed
Gizmodo: Nintendo Revolution Controller News Roundup
PCMag: Nintendo Revolution Controller Finally Revealed
Cnet News: Test out the new Revolution controller
IGN: TGS 2005: Hands-on the Revolution Controller
Gamespot: Nintendo Revolution Controller
AP vis MSNBC: Nintendo introduces new remote control
Reuters: Nintendo unveils next-generation game controller
Tags: console, controller, gamecube, games, gaming, generation, IGN, microsoft, next generation, Nintendo, playstation, ps2, ps3, revolution, revolutionary, sony, Tokyo Game Show, video games, xbox